~ Maia'ma White Owl Khan

Indie Board Games ~ Mystical and Ancient Origins

I enjoy both playing and designing board games. (I am an avid backgammon player!)

I am currently working toward the release of Realms of The SARA: Fourth World, my flagship strategic board game currently in the final stages of prototype and beta-testing.

Additional completed original board games:

Corners(tm) is a 2-player racing / entry-level strategy board game suitable for all ages.

Players race 5 pawns around a square spiral in a “roll and move” race from Start to Home (the center of the board). The linear-style board configuration seems straightforward yet landing on Corner spaces adds twists and turns.

Based on mystical numerics, Corners(tm) introduces entry-level strategic thinking processes into a short race game that incorporates the Fibonacci Sequence, the logarithmic growth pattern of the Golden Spiral.

Tarangini(tm)– Crossing the River of Life; Twelve Games, One Mystical Game Board

The board and games are inspired by the most ancient game boards discovered – the Royal Game of Ur and Senet, both dating from approximately 5,000 years ago. Other than one partial cuneiform discovered along with the Ur board, rules of play are unknown.

Other Games in Development:

Momentum(tm),

Mobius(tm),

Mercenaries of Peace(tm),

Blitz(tm), and

Ricochet(tm)

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About My Tapestry of Games Illustration Below

My ink drawing below, The Tapestry of Games, is born out of my lifelong fascination with and enjoyment of board games and expresses a “mystical roadmap” of the ancient origins of the human board-game journey.

Board games find their roots in the mystical, religious and spiritual imagination of the human mind. Not only played for pleasure, during leisure time, or for betting and gambling stakes, and as far back as 5,000 BC, board games confer opportunity for receipt of decision-making guidance, communications from other realms, personal insight, divination about future events and in some cases, such as in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, determine the life or death fate of the players.

Below I have also posted a photo of one of the early pre-prototype test board for Realms of The SARA: Fourth World.

Additionally, I have posted images of some of the oldest board games and board game artistic renderings yet discovered — Senet, Tabula, and The Royal Game of Ur, predecessors to our modern board games including chess and backgammon.

The Tapestry of Games

A tapestry of the “mystical map” of the ancient origins of board games~ ink drawing by Ama White Owl

Realms of The SARA: Fourth World – TEST BOARD

Pre-prototype Test Board for Realms of The SARA board game, designed by Ama White Owl.

Ancient Board Games

Ancient Roman DiceEgyptian hieroglyphics dated 3,100 BC showing board game playingHieroglyphic depiction of ancient Egyptians playing SenetPossibly the oldest dice found in Iraq (Mesopotamia). Made from bone, possibly human knuckles.Egyptian Board Game Squares with HieroglyphicsGreek Amphora dated 550 BC depicting Trojan War heroes playing a board game.Second Century Roman board for Ludus duodecim scriptorum, also known as XII scripta.Another ancient Roman Ludus board.Replica of the ancient board game, SENET.Ancient Senet board found in a pharaoh’s tomb.13th Century Medieval depiction of a Tabula board, one of the predecessors to Backgammon.The Royal Game of Ur. Board is dated 2,600 BC. Discovered in the tomb of a Sumerian monarch, the board is ornate — crafted from wood, shell, and red limestone, and studded with lapis lazuli.